Tag Archives: Rushmoor Borough Council

On Facebook the other day (13th November 17:42) Rushmoor’s Empress Ward Councillor David Clifford, made a statement asking the following questions:

I would be very interested to know how much the group has raised from the public and what you intend to do with the money? Would you be interested in investing in a live music venue in Farnborough elsewhere in the town? Who are the members of the committee that look after the funds?

I made a statement on behalf of the Friends of the Tumbledown Dick, stating the following: Continue reading →

On Wednesday 9th October 2013, the planning application by McDonald’s to turn the Tumbledown Dick pub into a fast food outlet was looked at by Rushmoor Borough Council’s Development Control Committee. RBC’s planning department advised that the plans be granted. The DCC discussed the plans and, after nearly an hour of mixed statements from councillors on the committee, the planning application was indeed granted by 7 votes to 3 as some of the valid material planning objections were seemingly swept aside as being almost irrelevant.

We have this week been informed that Bride Hall have appealed the Asset of Community Value (ACV) status of the Tumbledown Dick, to the First Tier Tribunal stage. We are pleased that Rushmoor Borough Council do not agree with this appeal and will be defending their original decision that indeed the Tumbly is an Asset of Community Value.

It is most interesting that Bride Hall are going to such lengths to remove the ACV from the Tumbly, despite the local council agreeing that this building is important to our community.

We will keep you informed of the process and we are pleased to inform you that the Judge handling the case has instructed that the Friends of the Tumbledown Dick be offered the opportunity to link with RBC in the defence of the ACV at the hearing. This is new legislation, we are learning as we go, but we are very hopeful that the ACV will be upheld.

The Friends of the Tumbledown Dick are delighted that the attempt by Bride Hall to negate the importance of this historic pub and music venue to the community of Rushmoor and in particular Farnborough has been muted by Rushmoor Borough Council.

The Tumbeldown Dick is indeed an Asset of Community Value (ACV) and one that we are fighting hard to protect for future generations. This latest development only reinforces our commitment to securing the site and reopening it as a community pub, run by the community for the community.

Much is being made about the figures quoted by Bridehall, a Bermuda registered corporation. The Friends believe that these figures are greatly exaggerated and are aimed at putting off potential investors as well as us. Indeed the District Valuer has some time ago valued the property at £1.5m However this previous valuation did not take into account the current level of willful neglect by the freeholder and the leaseholder. The leaseholder has already agreed to surrender the lease thereby removing this financial obligation. Bride Hall in their submission regarding the ACV review showed their greed and their disregard for our community by stating that they would willingly leave the Tumbledown Dick fall to further ruin if they were unsuccessful.

The Friends of the Tumbledown Dick are resolute in our commitment to seeing off the purchase by McDonald’s and ensuring that the building is re-opened and used again.

NB: We are very pleased that the local council not only listed the Tumbly as an Asset of Community Value but also upheld the ACV too. For any campaigners looking to save their own pub we suggest that you take a look at the CAMRA “300 challenge” to list your local too.

Yesterday afternoon Rushmoor Borough Council’s Cabinet approved the Tumbledown Dick to be added to the list of “Buildings of Local Importance”.

Our Chairperson, Fran Beauchamp, has issued the following statement:

“On behalf of Friends of the Tumbledown Dick, I would like to thank RBC’s Cabinet and Keith Holland of Planning for today approving The Tumbledown Dick for the Local List of buildings of importance. This is an important and long overdue acknowledgement of how important this building is to local people and means that it becomes a material planning consideration for any present or future owner wishing to make significant changes to it. Our community group has worked tirelessly to save this building from destruction and we can only hope that we will be finally given the opportunity to enact our ‘right to bid’. A good day Rushmoor!”

“To be listed locally, a building must meet only 1 of the criteria laid out in the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The report provided to the Cabinet from their Head of Planning and the Historic Buildings Officer, highlights that the Tumbledown Dick meets a minimum of 4 of the criteria needed for local listing. Although it is sad that the building did not meet the high standard of criteria for National Listing it is apparent to all that the building and site are an intrinsic part of the fabric and history of Farnborough and more than sufficient to meet local listing requirements, it is just unfortunate that it had not been afforded this protection previously.”

“This is by no means the end of our fight to protect The Tumbledown Dick as Bride Hall, the current owners, have enacted their right to have the Asset of Community Value listing reviewed. This means that the Council now need to review the process and the decision to ensure it was appropriate and Friends of the Tumbledown will be submitting evidence in support of the listing in the next few days. We look forward to also seeing the evidence provided by Bride Hall, a national property developer based in Mayfair, as to why they do not feel that this building is an Asset of Community Value for Farnborough and local people who are fighting to protect it.”

“Friends of the Tumbledown would like to thank the public for their continued support in our campaign, in the face of much adversity. We believe that local people have made a difference in changing the agenda for planning issues in Farnborough and if nothing else, we have proven that the community working together can achieve supportive and fantastic change. We only hope that Rushmoor Borough Council continue to support ours and all community groups going forward as this is absolutely imperative in the overall success of what we want to achieve for the benefit of the community.”

“Finally, we now have in excess of 4,407 signatures on our petition, this is a significant public mandate for our community group aims.”

Update: The Tumbly is now the FIRST ever building in Rushmoor to be accepted as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) following nomination by the The Friends of the Tumble Down Dick. This is a new term from the Localism Bill which means that if the building does go up for sale, The Friends of the Tumbledown (a community group) will automatically be given a ‘right to bid’ on it and be given six months to raise the funds to buy the building… Continue reading →